Of Which Reason Knows Nothing
by Shadowdancer
Summary: The Third Mazoku War has happened. The loss of a loved one can do many things to change a person...even drive one mad. Milgazia now seeks revenge, dragging Memphis and Val behind him. PG13 for a scene near the end.


**_Of Which Reason Knows Nothing_**   
  
A Songfic by Shadowdancer   
Song by Celine Dion:   
"Where Does My Heart Beat Now?"   
--------------------------- 

    Notes: It's roughly two hundred and seventy five years since the end of TRY. It's the reason why Amelia, Gourry and Sylphiel aren't around. A lot has happened since then. Yes, Mazoku have souls, it was said that Gaav has one, so it follows that Xelloss has one too. If he can't love, he certainly is capable of great respect.     I'm not even going to try and explain the odd pairings I did for Zel and Val, but I think Val and Memphy look cute together. D'OH! I said I wouldn't...never mind...     HAHAHAHAHAHA! I got over my writer's block near the end, thanks to that Lee Child novel, Die Trying.      Uncentered text in italics is a flashback, or train of thought. 

---------------------------   
So much to believe in   
We were lost in time

    _It had only been a century since the last Mazoku-Ryuzoku war, _Val thought._ Why is it that a Ryuzoku, who is supposed to be eternal, can age so much in that short span of time?_ Even as his mind formed the question, he knew the answer. The Seiryu-oh, Milgazia, had never been the same since the war, and it wasn't because he had become the Water Dragon King. The Resurrection War had seen the return of the Water Dragon King, in the form of Milgazia, and the reawakening of Lei Magus. The remnants of the Seiryu-oh Rugradia's power and identity had been wise to transfer all of it into Milgazia's person, where it had slept, dormant, in his soul. Milgazia had never complained of the extra burden that being a Dragon King had entailed, but Val knew that more ghosts haunted him now than he had before his ascension. And yet, Val Ul Copt, last of the Ancient Dragons and lifemate of Memphis Linesword, knew that the final blow had come at the death of the Beastmaster Xelas Metallium.     Val shuddered, remembering the terrible cost of _that_ battle. Zelgadiss and Miriya Graywords, the former Chimera and the Golden Dragon of the Sky Dragon King's line, the sweet-faced maiden who had given Zelgadiss his greatest wish and more, had perished with the Beastmaster, when the latter took the blow meant for her servant and son, Xelloss. Milgazia and Lina had done their best to kill their friend and enemy, when Zel and Miriya saw an opening in the Beast Priest's defenses that would appear, then disappear. Though Xelloss wished nothing more than to die at the hands of the two people he cherished most in the world, he could not go against his instincts to defend, to survive, and over all, to hurt. He had struck out at Val and Memphis, unleashing a bolt of dark energy that would consume them, strip them of both flesh and soul, ending their long lives and short marriage.     Milgazia had leaped in front of them, roaring defiance and spreading his wings, offering himself to the unholy altar of Xelloss' vengeance when the bolt exploded, far short of the Dragon King.     Filia Ul Copt, last of the Fire Dragon King's clan and Val's adoptive mother, screamed in agony and triumph as Xelloss' dark power rent her apart. She fell backward against the much larger Milgazia and smiled up at him. "Milgazia-sama…take care of Val and Memphy…and Lina for me…!" Her blue eyes were the last to dim, swallowed by the black flames.     Xelloss had shaken his head. "You were …brave, Filia…good bye." He raised his face and let the tears stream down his cheeks. "Curse the fate that had given me a heart that enabled me to befriend, and the birth of me as Mazoku!" he shrieked. "How many more of my friends must I destroy?! How much more of my soul must I lose?!"     Lina had risen, clutching in her hands the pitch-black broadsword that was the final manifestation of the Ragna Blade. She wept and charged, and at the same time, Miriya and Zelgadiss struck, their life-forces flaring around them, a gold and white version of Xelloss' fires.     Val and Memphis had glimpsed a tall, brown-skinned woman appear in front of Xelloss and hug him close. Then there had been only white light and a scream of agony from Milgazia. When the light had cleared and Val could see again, Xelloss was kneeling, cradling in his one arm the woman …the Beast Master.     "So…Filia died…for her son…so do I…for _ my_ special cubling." Xelas had smiled up at her incredulous offspring, before sifting away into blue-gray ashes.     Val saw Milgazia, leaning against a huge outcropping of stone, his head bloodied, unmoving but alive. Zelgadiss and Miriya, their bodies long burnt out by their power, flickered, the last tongues of white-gold fire spiraling up to the gray skies. Memphis lay unconscious next to him, and Lina…     Of Lina Inverse, there had been no trace.     Milgazia had lost his left eye and his heart that day of reckoning. Xelloss had retreated, half-mad with grief and too weak to fight them any longer. Perhaps, Val thought, it would have been better had the Water Dragon King something to bury – a scrap of cloth, a shattered corpse, perhaps…     But of Lina Inverse there was nothing left.     He who had once been Valgaav sighed, feeling a twinge of sadness and shared grief for Milgazia. The older Ryuzoku had sunk into his own kind of madness, the kind that wasn't really obvious. Milgazia had asked for Lina only once, upon his awakening. When he received only silence, he had closed his eye and nodded. He never mentioned her again.     Val felt Memphy snuggle against him, and he wrapped his arm around her tightly. _Damn it, why couldn't Uncle just admit to her that he loved her? Why didn't he? Then maybe he would have had more memories of Lina to keep…_ Val buried his nose in his wife's hair. He couldn't imagine it, losing Memphy, but he dared not imagine losing her, and her never ever knowing how he felt.     Val glanced over at Milgazia, who leaned against a rock, his one eye closed and his arms crossed over his chest. Every so often, he twitched and muttered. Val figured that he must have been dreaming. Suddenly, Milgazia shivered and wrapped his black cloak around himself before stretching out on the ground, gold and silver hair spilling out of his hood like scattered treasure. Val checked the wards, decided that they were strong enough to last the rest of the night, and silently volunteered to take Memphy's and Milgazia's turn at the watch.   
  


Everything I needed I feel in your eyes

    _Lina fell into step next to him and walked in silence for a while, giving and taking comfort simply by being there. Milgazia sighed in quiet relief, taking strength in her presence. Together, they gazed out over the Valley of Dragons, watching the sun slowly sink down to the horizon, the dimming sunlight deepening his golden locks and turning hers into molten fire. It was a habit that had become ritual, Lina's accompanying the Dragon King on his evening meditative walk up Dragon's Peak. No one really knew why Lina had returned with Milgazia after he fled the Valley a year before. No one knew for certain, but many rumors abounded. The Valley Dragons were far too polite to ask, for the reason for their Elder's sudden disappearance had also remained a secret. They only could guess, but the one indisputable fact was that when Milgazia returned he bore the aura and the powers of Rugradia, that he was the heir to her power.     The darkness of night had overwhelmed the last lingering traces of day; a premonition of what was to come. Lina looked up at Milgazia as he wordlessly wrapped his arm and cloak around her shoulders to ward off the chill. He gazed down at her, his expression gentle and earnest, as though to say 'I will protect you, whenever I can, in whatever way I can, always.'     She snuggled against him, burrowing into the warmth of his body, smiling up at the stars.
_

Always thought of keepin'   
Your heart next to mine

    The last night they had together, she had been the one to hold him. The last time they sat peacefully together, neither friends nor quite lovers, listening to each other's breathing and heartbeat, taking each moment and making it a memory that was worth more than gold or jewels. Lina wished that they could share more, more than fond smiles and chaste, comfortable hugs and the peck-on-the-cheek kisses of brother to sister. She knew that she could not remain his friend for much longer. Soon, she would have to end their friendship – and she hoped that he would not mind.     It was time to make dreams to reality. She had promised herself the next night.     But there was no next night. There never was time after that. 

But now that seems so far away

    Lina woke, weeping for the first time in a hundred years. She hadn't dreamed of him in so very long. Why only now, when she was certain that she would never see him again? She had regretted not telling him her heart then, regretted the chance she had lost, and, after the War, mourned him forever.     Lina Inverse had died that day, her heart buried in the ruins of Zephyr, buried with her friends, resting next to the one being she had loved.     Only Revanche the Demon-Hunter remained.

Don't know how love could leave without a trace.

    She had taken up the identity in order to move around freely – she had cut her hair short, dyed it black, and hid her eyes behind tinted glasses and her bangs. To make certain that she would not be recognized, she bound her breasts and took up the trade of a sell-sword specializing in the ruin of Mazoku. Gone was the fiery maiden of magic who lived life so fully. In her place was a tempered black blade, forged in the flames of destruction and steeped in death's cold waters. The only reminders of her past were the cross-shaped scar on her cheek, a remnant of the War and a skirmish against a high-level Mazoku, and the elegant blue-steel sabre that Milgazia had crafted for her so very long ago. On her hip hung Mavet-Rikud*, Death Dance, the blade that could cut Mazoku on the Astral Plane and the physical one.     The day was just breaking, and the sky remained gray, heavy with heaven's tears. It suited her mood.     Revanche pulled on his boots and wrapped his tan cape around his throat, fastening it with a large ruby set in gold. There were Mazoku to destroy, and the Demon-Hunter had a bounty to catch.     Time to see what Zyres Graywords had in store for the day.

Where do silent hearts go? 

    Val looked over at Memphis, knowing that they would have to deal with Milgazia's worse-than-usual temper. Even though the Seiryu-oh had buried his pain, it would surface whenever they had to deal with Zelgadiss and Miriya's only son. Zyres Graywords was the best source of information when it came to the whereabouts of higher-level Mazoku. Perhaps it was his way of avenging his parents, though he never revealed his sources to anyone. He _was_ very reliable though, and the fact that Milgazia was going to him meant that the trail had gone cold and Milgazia was getting impatient. For days afterward, the Ryuzoku would become even more sullen and withdrawn, his own demons whispering into his soul and sinking him even deeper into the icy hell of his insanity. Only the end of a hunt could thaw the frost a little, and bring a smile that was never mirrored in his eye to his lips. Memphis watched her Milgazia-ojisama, still her Ojisama after all this time, approach the roadside inn that Zyres used as a front for his business. She always thought that the sign that bore the inn's name; _Fool's Gold,_ was some kind of personal, morbid joke, though she couldn't understand why she believed that and told her husband so.     "Maybe it is because only madmen hunt Mazoku, and only such fools would consider the information of a Mazoku's whereabouts valuable. I wonder if it is luck that keeps Z out of trouble and death."     "I guess." Memphy watched Milgazia step around a smallish young swordsman clad in black and brown. The sell-sword vanished easily into the crowd. "I used to wish Milgazia-ojisama would laugh again, but now, I don't want him to. I want to remember his laugh of before. There is nothing for a dead soul to laugh at but his own doom, and I do not wish to hear it."     Milgazia stepped out shortly afterward, brushing past them without a word, hood pulled so low that Val couldn't even see the habitual downward curve of his lips as Milgazia never smiled.     The two knew better than to ask what had transpired within the inn, so, with a sigh and a resigned shake of their heads, ran after the Dragon King-in-hiding.

_   
Where does my heart beat now?   
Where is the sound   
That only echoes through the night_

    Milgazia wanted to run, to flee, to change once more into his true form and tear into the sky, shrieking his rage and despair. He wanted to hurt, to cause pain and be pained, to feel anything but the turmoil that churned his stomach and clutched at his chest. It was impossible, it could not be, there was no chance in the Sea of Chaos that it could be true!     Lina Inverse could not be alive, not after so long.     Brusquely, he ordered Memphy and Val to stay in the camp, and left, restless and snarly. His niece and his nephew-in-law, sensitive to his mood swings after a century of travelling with him, thankfully obeyed.     Alone at last, he found a cliff and sat, watching the clouds darken above him. Like his inner storm, it seethed, but refused to burst with its burden.     Milgazia wanted to weep, to scream without knowing why. His hands clenched on the stone, cracking it. He should have been happy to hear even a rumor of Lina's continued well-being. Instead, he felt agony, a sorrow so deep it transcended the word.     It hurt to feel joy when one is unused to emotions other than tightly controlled rage and savagery, for like muscles, emotions have to be exercised or they would atrophy.     For those who had lost too much, that happened faster than for most.

_Where does my heart beat now   
I can't live without   
Without feeling it inside   
Where do all the lonely hearts go?_

    Lina lay on her back, staring at the stormy sky as the clouds swirled and spun like tortured wraiths torn by hurricane winds. Her thoughts were much the same. Could it be true? Was it even possible?     It was whispered, Zyres had told her, that the Water Dragon King was not dead after all, but wandered the world seeking and destroying Mazoku. He had laughed, saying his source claimed it to be true, but he for one, could not believe it. If his late 'Uncle Milgazia' had indeed been hunting demons, then they would have heard of it. The battle that would have raged between him and Xelloss would have been of catastrophic levels at the very least, after all. But the Beast Lord Xelloss was, at last report, quite alive and sequestered in the fortress that stood in the center of Wolf Pack Island. He troubled no one but himself, and any unfortunate soul who either got too close or meddled in his plans. Xelloss was, Zyres spat on the floor for emphasis, the most peaceful Mazoku next to Deep Sea Dolphin, who, after the War, had returned to her watery depths and not been heard from since.     Lina closed her eyes, the pain resurfacing from the abyss of her soul. She wanted to believe, but she could not. Hope and fear warred within her, destroying the calm of her being.     The eye of her personal typhoon had passed. Now the real tempest would begin.

Candle in the water   
Drifting helplessly

    Milgazia looked up from his tormented weeping. He had not even realized that he was crying until he had been swept away by his grief. He wept for time lost, for every scrap of pain, every ounce of suffering, every drop of hate and every thread of anger that he had gathered within himself. It had felt good to weep, his tears washing clean the dark corners of his soul and carrying him with the torrent. It left him drained, empty, and numb. The winds had blown away his screams of sorrow, mixing them with their own howls.     The golden-haired Ryuzoku fell backward to lie upon uncaring stone, his eye sparkling with a flickering light. The tiny flame of vitality coming to life.     A spark called hope.

Hiding from the thunder   
Come and rescue me

    Lina threw open the windows, welcoming the gale-force winds that immediately buffeted her slender body and billowed out her shoulder-length hair behind her. She remembered standing in a similar storm with him, reveling in the feel of the wind pulling, tugging, pushing, clinging to her slender body and threatening to tear her from the mountain cliff where they stood. But Milgazia had held her hand, and together, laughing, they had braved the fury and left, invigorated and cleansed of fear, worry, doubt and world-weariness.     Lina raised her hands up to the sky in supplication, offering herself up as sacrifice to the storm.     In reply, the rain began to pour.

Driven by the hunger   
Of the endless dream

    Milgazia stood, eyes closed, ignoring the stinging sleet that clawed at his face, ignored the chill that deathlike, seeped into his bones. He knew only a need so powerful, a desire that could be quenched by a single, specific cup. Salvation was at hand, for now he knew, without knowing how, that his Holy Grail existed, and there was still a chance to unmake what he had lost.     Milgazia felt no cold. His blood ran hot through him, misting his breath and steaming his drenched clothes. He felt nothing, thrust into his memories and past, remembering the tiny, redheaded sorceress who had stolen his heart without knowing it. In his mind, he held her as he had wanted to hold her for a hundred years, envisioning the reaction he wanted to elicit, heard himself whisper the words he so longed to say, drunk with her scent and his love for Lina…     The dream from which he did not want to wake.

I'm searching for the hand that I can hold

    Lina threw back her head, gasping and shivering with cold. The little sorceress ignored it, remembering a time of no worries, remembering a time when she had held him tightly, trying to calm his fits of conflicting memories and personalities. She had soothed him through his nightmares, reassured him of his identity, and in doing so, Lina had discovered Milgazia's past. He had touched her deeply, his hand clutching hers desperately, and her heart had changed toward Milgazia then. She knew she had to find him, if only to let him know what she felt.

I'm reaching for the arms that let me know 

    Milgazia opened his one good eye. He remembered, fleeting snatches of her voice, ringing in his memory, imploring him to come back from the depths of the voices, the flood of endless knowledge and the overwhelming persona of the Water Dragon King. Lina had been his anchor, his personal salvation, the angel whose embrace promised succor, a siren that lured him from the madness and into the light. Her face, lovely with relief and joy, was the sight that soothed his eyes, her name the first word that his lips formed clearly.     Milgazia knew he had to find her, if only to hold her once more, and thank her at long last.

Where do silent hearts go?

    Val and Memphis found him sprawled out on the cold, uncaring stone, his gold and silver hair spread around his head like a halo of captured sunlight. Memphis gasped in astonishment and pointed. "Val, look at his face!"     Val looked closely, his golden eyes widening as he did. "Milgazia…is _smiling…?_"     Memphis knelt beside her uncle, touching his cheek with two slender fingertips. "Oooh, eggshells and shards, he's cold! He's soaked to the bone – Val, help me get these clothes off him! He'll catch his death of cold!"     Val knelt next to his wife and started helping her pull the sodden clothes and armor off their unconscious uncle and lord. "I just hope he hasn't caught it already…"     They wrapped him up in a dry blanket and Val carried him back to camp, where the pair watched over his sleep. Memphis stirred the wild vegetable soup she was making and glanced over at Milgazia's prone form. "Maybe I'm getting as crazy as he is, but he seems so calm…so much…at peace."     "It's not you, Memph. I sensed it too. Do you think the madness has left him?"     "I pray Ceiphied that it is so…Oh Val, what happened?"     Val thought for a moment, then smiled at his wife, his fangs showing. "A miracle?"     Memphis snorted. "What? Lina Inverse came back to life? Be serious, Val."     "I have no idea! Don't ask me! I'm not a shrine maiden or a priest that can make predictions like Mother used to… I'm just the grunt of the outfit!" Val turned his nose up to the air and waggled his head back and forth as he spoke, looking so ridiculous that he managed a laugh from his wife.     _I'm the grunt and the clown of this outfit, love, and don't you forget it! _Val thought, inwardly exulting at the mirth that they scarcely had a chance to enjoy anymore.     Memphy left her soup and hugged Val. "Oh, Beloved…what would I do without you?"     "Become as dour and wrinkled as our Uncle, that's what. And believe me, Pretty, that's something I _really_ don't want to imagine!"

I know that out there somewhere   
He waits for me

    Lina rose, so cold that she no longer shivered. Her head hurt, but the clarity of her thoughts could not be denied. He was there, she knew. She had seen him, in her dreams, heard his voice calling to her. "Milgazia…" she smiled, a real, devil-may-care grin filled with old arrogance, her face settling back into its familiar expression. "Just you wait, you …dragon you,"     She turned from the window. "I, Lina Inverse the Dra-Matta, am coming to get you…after I take a nice hot bath."     Lina Inverse _had_ her priorities after all.

Someone who's searching just like me

    "Milgazia-ojisama!!!" Memphis whined, jumping over a fallen log. "Where are you going?" Behind her, Val cursed viciously as a vine snagged his arm and his foot caught in a root.     "Back to Zyres. I want a little information from him, and I want it _yesterday_." Milgazia replied, pulling aside a curtain of moss and stepping through. "Hurry up."     "Why aren't we taking the path back, damn it?!" Val groused, ripping at a particularly precocious thorn bush that suddenly took a liking to his jacket.     "Because this is the fastest way back to the _Fool's Gold,_ and if you can't keep up, then go home." Milgazia told him.     Memphy sighed, helping cut Val free. "Home? Dragon's Peak was destroyed. Home is wherever we put our head down for the night. We don't have a home." She murmured softly to her husband.     Milgazia stopped and turned. "Forgive me, Memphy, Val. I spoke harshly, and it was unwarranted." He strode over to them and pulled Val's jacket free from the bush.     A little stunned, Val and Memphy gazed at him, seeing little hints of the uncle they had lost to a killing machine flicker in his eyes. "Milgazia-oji…" Val whispered, "What is this all about? Why are we going back to Zyres, and why…why…?" He held our his hands helplessly, unable to put his confusion into words.     "What, or who, are we after now?" Memphis asked, taking Milgazia's hands in hers and looking up at her uncle.     Milgazia touched her face gently and guided her over to a root to sit. "I will explain, my niece. Come here, nephew. You will need to sit down."

Then one touch overcomes the silence   
Love still survives

    "What'sa matter, `Vanche?" Zyres asked. "The last job wasn't worth sneezing at?" the half-dragon gave the young swordsman an oily grin and leaned forward, placing some Elmekian beer on the counter. "You're here early. Anyway, I've got another target for you. Might give you a bit more of a challenge, perhaps…Ullen wanted it, but I held off just for you."     "Give it to Ullen. I don't give a rat's chewed and _moldy_ tail about the job." Revanche slid onto his barstool and downed the beer in a single pull.     Zyres stared at him, then frowned in worry. "What is the matter, Revanche? Are you sick? You _never_ turn down a job, at least not while I've set up business anyway."     "I've my own target. I need information, and you're the one who gave me a bit the last time we talked. I want more."     Zyres scratched at the back of his head, the light lavender hair falling over one golden eye. "Well, gee… you and I talked about a lot of people the last time, 'Vanche. Got a clue so I can price the info?"     "Three words, Z, and I'll pay any price for them." Revanche cracked the clay still on the counter, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.     Zyres stared at the mercenary. "Who are you and what have you done with Revanche? The Revanche I know will never, _never_ pay more than the contract agrees."     Revanche snorted. "Beastmaster's Ashes, Z… you think you're a barrel of laughs today, don't you?" a finely boned, glove-wrapped hand shot out and grabbed the Half-Ryuzoku, yanking him across the bar and close up. Zyres saw the thin pale lips part in a snarl. "The information I need, now. I want all the information you have about the Water Dragon King Milgazia the Great Gold."     Zyres stared at the hunter and his own lips twisted. "Well now…That will cost you a pretty penny, 'Vanche."     Without letting go of him, Revanche reached into his jacket, pulled out a small pouch and let it drop onto the counter. Several round beads of orihalcon spilled out of the top. "There's your payment. Now _talk._"     Zyres raised a thick, ragged eyebrow, then reached up to push the unruly forelock that he had inherited from his father out of his eye. "Why so intense, Revanche?"     "I've my own scores to settle. More than that, you don't need to know. Talk."     And Zyres did.

Two hearts needing one another   
Give me wings to fly

    Memphis watched her uncle as he strode up to the _Fool's Gold _inn. "So... after all this time, he still loves her."     Val looked down at her. "Shouldn't he? After all, he lost a chance before, why should he risk not taking this one, no matter how slim a chance it is?"     Memphis nodded, then leaned her head against his shoulder, his arm wrapping around her tenderly. "Then I pray Ceiphied that this chance is true. The world owes them both so much, let them have each other!"     Milgazia reached for the door handle, just as it was thrown open. He stepped aside to let a small, black-and brown clad figure barrel out and moved to fill the doorway. He felt the urge to stop and paused, as the smaller sellsword hesitated too, and the Ryuzoku looked over his shoulder.     The young lad turned to look as well, feeling the intense gaze bore into his back., hand lightly resting on his sword.     Milgazia's world stopped then, as he glimpsed the glint of ruby beneath the shelter of the wide-brimmed hat, eyes catching the hints of blood-red sparkles…     Then he was slammed backward into the wall as the sellsword's body rammed into his, slender arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and a set of soft lips captured his own just as he opened his mouth to cry out in surprise.     A familiar, much-longed for scent filled his nostrils just as he was about to tear the boy away from him. His eyes widened, and he tore the hat away instead. What he saw stabbed his consciousness like a spear of light in the madness. "It cannot be…! Li…na?"     "You bet your horns it is, you big lizard." Lina smiled up at him, tears spilling out of her eyes, before kissing him hard again. This time, he pulled her close and responded with equal fierceness.     Far behind her, Val and Memphy's jaws hit the pavement in disbelief and shock.     "I never knew…! Oh Milgazia-ojisama!!!" Memphis cried in dismay.     Val gagged. "Me neither. I'm gonna be sick…"

_ I hear my heartbeat now   
I hear the sound   
Hear it echo through the night_

    Milgazia pulled away to gaze down at the woman he loved with all his heart and soul. His eyes sparked in dismay when his eyes touched the savage cross-shaped scar marring her cheek. He noticed too, that her molten-rock hued hair was now a dull, unshining coal. She seemed older somehow, like the many cares of the word had left its mark upon her. "Lina…my beloved Lina-chan…I thought you were…that you…" he faltered, as though afraid that by saying the word, she would vanish like a ghost.     "Me too. You just disappeared…and I thought everyone was dead, everyone except me. I woke up far beyond the Kataart Mountains, floating along with some debris in the ocean…for a long time, I thought I was dead myself, until I dreamed of Neechan yelling at me to get up and get my butt in gear and get even! I thought that the Mazoku would be looking for me, so I changed…"     Milgazia gently traced her cheek-scar with his finger. "Did you have to be that extreme?" he asked almost sadly.     Lina pressed his hand against her cheek and leaned into his touch. "Even I am not that nuts. No, I didn't do that on purpose. I woke up with my cheek bleeding after the fight with the Beastmaster and Xelloss, and it never healed right. The other was a lucky cut by a wire-wielding Mazoku I killed." She gazed up at him, her face a mask of distress. "But you…your _eye_…"     Milgazia touched the eye patch. "I don't remember losing it…I just recall pain. It's all right…I got used to losing it…but I never got used to having lost you." Lina reached up as though to caress the patch, and hesitated. Milgazia caught her hand and brought it to his cheek. "Val told me that they couldn't find you…"     "Val! Did he and Memphy-?" Lina gasped, remembering them.     "They're alive and well. Come on, I know you want to see them again." Milgazia wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and guided her back toward his niece and nephew.

_ I feel my heart beat now _

    Val looked at Memphy, who looked up at him. "Uh…Memph, what do we do? They're headed this way."     Memphis growled then stamped her foot on the ground. "This isn't RIGHT! Milgazia-ojisama's been in love with Lina Inverse! He loves _her_ not some little _boy_ for Ceiphied knows what reason and I have no idea how those two _could_ have met why didn't we _know_ how could he have betrayed Lina's memory like that I SWEAR I'm gonna beat the _crap_ outta him for what he did no matter _what_ explanation he could _possibly_ have for falling for a guy when he just _told_ us that he was gonna go_ look_ for Lina and I'm gonna -"     Val clamped his hand over her mouth. "You're gonna need to take a good, long breath first lovey, _then_ you can think of ways and means to try and beat our dearly addled uncle back to senses."     Memphis quit struggling and looked at her husband inquiringly. He removed his hand and she sucked in three deep breaths before speaking. "You mean you're not gonna try and have me reason with him?"     Val shrugged. "I've stopped putting 'Milgazia' together with 'reason' a very _long_ time ago." He replied simply.     Memphis opened her mouth to retort when she was suddenly struck dumb. Val stared at her, then looked cautiously over his shoulder…     …to see a pair of very wide, very definitely _female_, very, very ruby colored eyes staring at them both. Behind the black-haired youth, Milgazia was twitching with barely suppressed annoyance.     "Well, that was certainly unexpected. I thought you'd have at least a nice 'Hi Lina! So great to see you, I thought you were dead!' but instead I hear plans for Mil's immediate injury on my behalf and discussion whether he's gay or not." The youth turned to look at him. "I certainly _hope_ that isn't true, Mil."     "No it is most certainly NOT true!" Milgazia cracked, trembling with the effort to stay in control of his anger. "You _are_ disguised as a _man_ after all, Lina!"     Lina laughed. "Well, I'm so glad the disguise still works!"     Milgazia scowled. "_I'm_ not!" he snorted and turned away to regain his composure. "Gay?! _Me?!_ Of all the insane, idiotic…" the rest of his words were reduced to grumbling as the Water Dragon King stewed**.     "Lina…?" Memphis blinked. Val rubbed at his eyes and took a closer look. The two of them circled the drably-clad sellsword and finally came to a conclusion, whereupon the two immediately crushed her close in a double-combo bear hug.

Now that I've found   
The feeling lives inside

    Later, when Lina had returned to consciousness, she explained that she had barely used any magic whatsoever – other than the glamour she had cast on her hair. For reasons unknown to her, it refused to work on her eyes, so she hid under her hat and in the shadows. "I thought everyone I knew was dead…and Zyres had changed so much that I didn't even recognize him until he said his name! He didn't know where you were... and since he didn't know who I was... who I _really_ was, I mean..."     The four of them looked at each other then began to laugh. They laughed for the incredible ironic joke that their own cleverness had played on them. They had changed their names, their image, their very identity, to hide from the Mazoku...and ended up hiding from each _other._ They laughed, the laughter ringing loud and free, unfettered for once, ringing joyfully through the walls of Lina's room in the _Fool's Gold_ Inn.     In the room behind the bar proper, Zyres looked up as the laughter filtered down from the floor above and grinned, setting down a glass of wine in front of his customer. "Sounds like people are having lots of fun times there..."

I've got someone to give my heart to   
Feel it getting stronger and stronger and stronger

    "Heaven knows there aren't much of _those_ nowadays..." a black-gloved hand curled around the stem of the wineglass sitting in front of him. The hand's owner swirled the wine, sniffed the bouquet appreciatively then sipped, barely wetting his lips. "Zefirian wine, Zyres? This is rare now that Zefiria has really closed its borders to the rest of the world... I'm touched."     "I think we have reasons to celebrate, ne, Uncle Xelloss?" Zyres poured himself a glass as well and raised it in a toast. "Our last debts have been paid to them." Zyres jerked his head in the direction of the room the four were in.     "Yes... Milgazia's madness may soon end. I'd hate to have to face a suicidal Dragon King - it adds in all sorts of variables. To reunions." Xelloss clinked his glass to Zyres' and they both drank.     Zyres put down his glass. "That's not the reason you wanted them reunited, ne? Certainly, now Milgazia is more than a match for you."     "Ruby-Eye is sealed once more, and we lost the Beastmaster to the War. _Your_ own agendas have kept Mazoku power down -barring my own, of course due to our lovely mutually beneficial contract, thank you very much - and I've no desire to lose right now. Thanks to Milgazia, Dynast is kept to the far north at the moment, and Deep-Sea's excursions have been limited to sea ports. I wonder how long it will take for them to see reason?"     "Speaking of which, dear _Uncle..._" Zyres leaned forward, smiling in a way that reminded Xelloss of his sire "...you and I still have that contract in force, ne?"     "Naturally. Oh yes...when Milgazia gets back from the honeymoon, do be so kind as to point him northward again. Ha-ou's minions are being foolish and Grau's been sighted on the continent. I'm trying to keep us alive here..."     "For the usual fees, of course." Zyres raised one craggy blond eyebrow.     "Naturally. This is_ business _after all..." Xelloss rose. "I'd best be going. I can only hide my presence for so long. Fibrizo was always better at it than I am. See you around, Z." With that, the Beast Lord vanished.     Zyres got up too, holding another glass of his precious wine in his hands. He went back out to the bar and decided that the next round of drinks be on the house.

Hearts are made to last   
Til the end of time

    They had gone to bed shortly after Val and Memphy had retired to their own rooms. Lina had kissed him, and he responded with more passion than he had expected, and it was returned. The first time they made love was marked by hunger, a need for each other that exceeded desire, but even that did not keep him from being surprised when he discovered he was her first. For his part, he tried his best to be gentle and tender, but Lina would have none of that, claiming him as hers and saying that this night of nights was _way_ overdue. Afterward they lay spent, arms and legs entwined, her head tucked onto his shoulder and under his chin. They had talked a long while, reminiscing about many things before making love a second time, this time more slowly. Now Milgazia simply held her as they leaned back against the pillows, cuddled under the blankets. He ran his hand through her hair, and sighed.     Lina twisted her head up to look at him. "What's wrong, Mil?"     "...you _will_ grow your hair long again, won't you?" Milgazia asked her, missing the wealth he remembered whipping in the breeze, like silken fire. "And change back the color...?"     She laughed and pushed herself up on her elbows to look down at him. Sadly, she touched the edge of his eyepatch with her fingertips. "Can't you grow back your eye? Isn't there some kind of spell you can use...?"     "Mmmm....I don't think there is one..." Milgazia mused, his one eye catching the little bit of moon and starlight that peeped in through the curtains.     "Tell you what..." Lina said, arranging herself comfortably on his chest, her nose touching his, "I promise to grow my hair back if you can find a way to bring back your eye."     "I don't know... I've gotten used to having just one eye..." he replied doubtfully.     Lina made faces at him. "I like looking at yours! Grow it back!" she demanded.     "You make it sound so _easy_..." Milgazia laughed.     Lina pressed her nose further against his, glaring down at him. "You're the Water Dragon King! That's gotta be good for _something!_"     Milgazia wrapped his arms around her waist, laced his fingers together and smirked up at her. "All right, I'll do that. And for your information, I'm good for a _lot_ of things..." he leaned forward and kissed her lingeringly. "...ne?" he asked after a while.     "Most definately." Lina replied, as she grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down for another kiss.

    Xelloss smiled from his perch in the trees outside their window, and vanished, knowing that the Mazoku race as a whole had nothing to worry about for a while. A very _long_ while.

----------------

*Mavet-Rikud - I think this is either Hebrew, or Arabic. In the light of the current and latest Middle-East crisis, it's an interesting little thought that I can't remember what language I used for the sword's name.   
**(Bad pun there…Dragon Cuisine…sorry ^^;)


End file.
